We'll Soon Be Using More Than Earth Can Provide

From Jan. 1 to Aug. 2, Earth's 7.5 billion people will have used as much biocapacity as the planet can regenerate in a year. freemixer / iStock. We'll Soon Be Using More Than Earth Can Provide By David Korten Four days after President Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement , the Global Footprint Network (GFN) reported that Earth Overshoot Day 2017 will fall on Aug. 2. Most Americans likely have no idea what that means. The basic point is quite simple: From Jan. 1 to Aug. 2, the world's 7.5 billion people will have used as much of Earth's biological resources—or biocapacity—as the planet can regenerate in a year. During the remaining five months of 2017, our human consumption will be drawing down Earth's reserves of fresh water , fertile soils , forests and fisheries, and depleting its ability to regenerate these resources as well as seques...